Mahindra Blues Festival, Mumbai

The ninth edition of the festival featured performances by Beth Hart, Charlie Musselwhite and more.

- Sunil Sampat

What does “The Blues “ mean to you? Does it represent a certain type of sound, is it a collection of electric guitars and harmonicas? Is it a bunch of musicians singing about their poor luck at poker or with women or is it just music that suggests party time?

Whatever your concept of this genre of music might be, a little bit of each of the above ingredients was found, alive and well at the ninth edition of the Mahindra Blues Festival held, as usual at Mumbai’s iconic Mehboob Studio last month. This event has captured the ‘social’ imagination of the people of Mumbai who look forward to this annual event much as an earlier generation used to look forward to the Jazz Yatra. It is a time and place to catch up with friends — you know they will be there, get a drink or two, hear the music either in the performance halls or on the giant screens provided for those choosing the comfort of chairs. The organizers of the Mahindra Blues Festival have mastered the art of providing the right atmosphere and fa-AL cilities for both these groups! The music and musicians need not be from the top of the tree but somehow the mix and balance of the acts works beautifully for the two day event.

Musicians occupy a very special place in this universe and they bring with their music a special, almost spiritual experience. Blues and jazz musicians, because of the space they have to improvise, tend to tell stories in their solos. These cannot be tutored or learnt in a classroom! These stories relate the unique experiences of the artist’s life. They are stories from the school of ‘hard knocks.’